Friday, January 6, 2012

Bridge Blog 494: Winter Sectional Day 1

          Daemen is a demon, as far as the organizers of the Buffalo Winter Sectional Tournament are concerned. Word is that the college strung along Unit 116 on arrangements for this weekend’s affair and then, two weeks ago, told them the rent would be twice what everyone thought it would be. But it didn’t end there, as I discovered when I arrived at the Wick Center Friday morning.
          Put aside the usual complaints about the venue – the way it’s either too  hot or (more often) too cold, the brutal discomfort of the chairs, or the fact that both women’s washrooms are a long walk across the dining area from the Social Hall, where the tournament takes place. This time there were new outrages. Like provisions for coats. There was just one rack. By the time I arrived, five minutes before the start of the morning session, the hangers were all engaged, the rack was full and coats were piled over nearby chairs and tables.
And then there were the arrangements for snacks and beverages. Ordinarily, these are set up in the dining hall. But there’s between-semester remodeling under way there, so the foodstuffs were moved to a big table in front of the stage. Then the hot water urn ran dry and no Daemen staff was around to refill it. And then someone mentioned that the college imposed such complete control over the food and beverages that they wouldn’t allow the tournament to put out its own pitchers of ice water. Instead, water could be purchased for 75 cents a bottle. The college also is preparing the $10 box lunches for the Sunday Swiss team game – sandwich, chips, banana and beverage. The unit is buying only a limited number of them. I’ve decided to brown bag it.

No comments:

Post a Comment